Immigration through Investment to Quebec

Canada is ranked by the United Nations as one of the world’s best places to live. With free-market access to the USA and easy proximity to India, Asia, South America and the EU, it is also a great place to do business. Under the Canada-Quebec Accord, the province of Quebec operates its own immigrant investor program. All investors must be selected by Quebec and must plan to settle in Quebec. Under Quebec’s Immigrant Investor Program, you and your family may become eligible for one of the most valued second citizenship – citizenship of Canada. The Quebec Program, which is administered and guaranteed by the government of Quebec, Canada’s largest province, has been in operation since 1986. Therefore, it is one of the oldest and the most reputable immigration through investment program in the world. Recently, in 2018, legislation was significantly modified. Generally speaking, the selection criteria (except for the investment amount required and assets required) rest the same but the threshold of the required investment now equals to CAD 1,200,000.

Immigration experts of Elma Global have been in the business of helping entrepreneurs and their families gain Permanent Residence and subsequently Canadian citizenship since 2003. Now our company works with one of the largest, most respected operators of Canada’s Immigrant Investor Programs and with a government approved facilitator. With our network of advisors speaking many languages, our clients can be assured of getting the professional help they need at every stage of immigration process.

Immigration through Investment

With the Quebec Immigrant Investor Program, your capital CAD 1,200,000 is invested in a five-year, zero-interest, government-guaranteed Quebec term note that supports Quebec-based businesses, creating jobs and fostering economic growth. Investors in this program must initially be destined for Quebec.

Eligibility Criteria

You must be at least 18 years of age

You must have at least two years of business experience.

You must have a net worth of at least CAD 2,000,000 that was legally obtained. This net worth must have been accumulated through the operation, control or management of a profitable business, either industrial or commercial. Unlike Federal Program, the Quebec Immigrant Investor Program allows to include inherited assets as legally obtained.Inheritance must be at least 6 months before launching the application.

You must be willing and able to make an investment of CAD 1,200,000 that will be returned, without interest, about five years and two months after payment.

You must also show that you have enough money to support yourself and your dependants after you arrive in Canada.

Other Eligibility Criteria

You must obtain a minimum of 35 points in the selection grid (There are five selection criteria with maximum possible 100 points awarded for education, business experience, age, ability in English and/or French, and for adaptability. The pass mark is currently 35 points which is fairly low.)

You must meet medical and security requirements. You and your family members must pass a medical exam and security and criminal checks.

You must meet any other requirements of Quebec immigration regulations.

Processing Time

Processing time for applications varies from 1 to 2 years depending on the country. Upon approval investors and their family members included in the application will receive a permanent resident visa from the Government of Canada. After arriving to Canada, they will receive permanent residence card and after three years they will become eligible to apply for Canadian citizenship.

Tax Incentives for Investors

It is possible to arrange five-year tax holiday for immigrants. Tax planning must be arranged before applying for permanent residence in Quebec. To benefit from this tax holiday, immigrants must transfer their assets to a foreign immigration trust. The foreign-source income earned by the trust is not taxable in Canada. This tax holiday may be up to five years, as of the date of residency in Canada. Only immigrants who have never lived in Canada for more than five years may benefit from it. There is no restriction as to the type of assets that may be transferred to a trust. In order to maximize tax savings, the trust must be created before the date of residency in Canada.

Full Cash and Loan Options

Many potential immigrants, though able to meet the net worth criteria, may have difficulty raising the required investment in a short period of time. Others may own or operate profitable businesses and wish to avoid taking capital from these operations. And in some cases, a lump sum payment may be preferable. For these reasons, approved financial institutions (banks and brokers in Quebec and in Canada) normally offer two different financing options. Full Cash was described above; it means that investor must invest CAD 1,200,000. Under Loan Option the investor deposits an amount of CAD 350,000, borrows the remainder (CAD 850,000) from a Canadian Bank and has nothing to pay back at the end of the term. No monthly payments are required over the term of the loan.

Freedom of Movement

Note that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees mobility rights, or free movement within Canada: “Every citizen of Canada and every person who has the status of a permanent resident of Canada has the right to move to and take up residence in any province and to pursue the gaining of a livelihood in any province.”

Questions related to immigration to Quebec:

Question: I would like to find out the requirements to become a Canadian citizen. I am a successful businessperson and looking to become a citizen of Canada. Do I need to live in Canada after investing? How long does it take? What is he level of investment required? What are the requirements?Answer: Based on 1,200,000 CAD investment you will get only permanent residence (PR). In order to become eligible to apply for Canadian citizenship investor will be expected to spend 3 years (uninterrupted or out of any 5 years) in Canada. If the PR cardholder is absent from Canada for 2 years then permanent residency is cancelled (irrespective of the investment made).

Question: I will like to know more about the Canada citizenship by investment. I want to know about the investment option, loan option, professional and legal fees for a family of five and the duration of the application. Secondly, I will be glad to know if the applicant is required to relocate to Canada or if there are conditions on visiting Canada. Please, do supply every other information you think is needed.Answer: The Federal Program was abolished in 2014. Quebec program is currently over quota for this year and will become open probably next year. Moreover, we do not recommend Canada for immigration (because the official statistics of refusal rate is 76 % which means that only 24 % of submitted applications are accepted). If you do not have some very special reasons to choose Canada it is better to consider residency and citizenship programs of other countries.

Question: If I get a PR of Canada through the Quebec skilled worker category can I change the state after getting PR? I mean I want to go other state than that of Quebec.Answer: Yes, one can get PR visa through Quebec immigration program and settle in Toronto or any other city of Canada.Question: I have one more enquiry again; this will surely help me to take a decision. I am planning to apply for Quebec skilled worker. Would you mind to tell me one thing, after my application they will take an interview, I am not sure that will be in English or in French. Do you have any more idea, please?Answer: You can choose the interview to be in French or in English. Considering that Quebec is a French-speaking province it is better to choose French as the language to speak at an interview. Please, note that in Canada we deal only with immigrant investor category (skilled worker, self-employed, and entrepreneur categories are out of our business).

Question: We want to get Permanent Residence in Canada through investment route. We consider loan option (that is to invest CAD 350,000 irrevocably). However, our daughter has the Down’s syndrome. Though she can take care of herself as well as she can read and write. Do you think it is realistic for our family to hope for permanent residence visas considering obligatory medical examinations?Answer: It will all depend if the daughter will need medical or social services once in Canada. And if so, if these services will cost more than CAD 5,400 or so per year, than she may be declared inadmissible. Therefore, in order to provide a clear answer, we would need more information. In addition, an expert report might be important to provide in such a situation.

Important Notice: We do not recommend Canada for immigration by investment because the official statistics of refusal rate is 76 % which means that only 24 % of submitted applications are accepted. In addition, we recommend you considering other immigration options, e.g. US green card by investing 560,000 USD into approved projects in the United States.

If you have any question regarding above-mentioned material or wish to use our legal assistance in obtaining permanent residence in Canada, contact us today